Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders’ union,
the NAHT said:
“It is shocking, but predictable that the retention and
recruitment crisis, driven largely by excessive teacher workload
is showing little signs of improvement. It’s a vicious cycle - as
leaders and teachers work excessive hours to cover the gaps
fuelled by the recruitment crisis, brutal inspection regime and
additional work created by managing schools on budgets cut to the
bone.
“Teachers and school leaders have been hammered by a pay cut of
over 20% in real terms in the last decade, the number of
graduates coming forward to teacher training is in freefall, and
qualified teachers and leaders continue to leave the profession
in droves. Few aspire to leadership roles. Our most recent survey
of members showed almost two-thirds (61%) of assistant and deputy
heads told us that they do not aspire to headship.
“Despite promises to reduce teacher workload, the data tells a
different story. Leaders and teachers are regularly working 50-60
hours a week to provide the best education they can for children.
In the long term, it's simply not sustainable – and the problem
of excessive workload is getting worse, as schools pick up the
pieces of underfunded community support services, an increased
number of children with SEND and the cost-of-living crisis.
“The government must listen to what the Workload Reduction
Taskforce is saying about how best to reduce workload, and we
agree that one of the keys to tackling the workload crisis is to
ensure schools receive more support from outside. We were
frustrated that in the budget the government didn't offer more
money for community care services, and the amount offered for
SEND was paltry.
“There must be a shift in attitude towards the profession from
government – as a start, the new recruitment and retention
strategy must once again make teaching an attractive career and
restore independence and agency to teachers and leaders. After
over a decade of real term cuts to salaries, there must also be a
restorative pay rise, a more manageable workload, and fundamental
reform of Ofsted.”
